Timber-laden locomotives used to roar along this twenty-one-mile stretch of train track, but today it’s all yours for the cruising. The gently graded trail, which is paved in some parts and gravel in others, links the rural towns of Banks and Vernonia, and its multiple access points allow families to tailor outings to just about any distance. As you wind through rolling hills dotted with historic farmhouses, there’s no shortage of postcard views, including one from the top of the Buxton Trestle, an eighty-foot-high structure a few miles outside of Banks that will have you itching to ring your bell as you pedal across it.

TRAIL DISTANCE: Up to 42 miles

NEAREST TOWN: Banks

DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN: 25 miles

PACK: Mountain Biking Oregon; Banks-Vernonia State Trail map at oregonstateparks.org145.php

Bike

Easy

Up to 42 miles round trip